Minnesota Republican state senator who cosponsored ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ bill arrested for child solicitation

Minnesota Republican state Senator Justin David Eichorn — who only just recently cosponsored a bill in the Minnesota legislature to define “Trump derangement syndrome” as a mental illness — was arrested on March 17, suspected of soliciting a minor for sex, according to Bloomington, MN police.

Bloomington police accuse Eichorn, 40, of communicating online with a girl he thought was 17 but who was an undercover detective. Minnesota authorities allege Eichorn arranged to meet who he thought was the girl in downtown Bloomington, near Minneapolis, after discussing a sexual encounter.

Eichorn was arrested without incident and booked into the Bloomington Police Department jail. He was then transferred to Hennepin County Adult Detention Center, where he awaits felony Soliciting Under 18 Year Old to Practice Prostitution charges.

According to The New York Times, downtown Bloomington where Eichorn was arrested prides itself on being an “Orange Jumpsuit District” instead of a “Red Light District,” where the city enforces strict anti-prostitution enforcement.

“As a 40-year-old man, if you come to the Orange Jumpsuit District looking to have sex with someone’s child, you can expect that we are going to lock you up,” Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said, announcing the lawmaker’s arrest.

SF 2589, the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” bill

BREAKING: Republican Sen. Justin Eichorn who co-authored bill to classify "Trump Derangement Syndrome" as mental illness charged with soliciting a minor. pic.twitter.com/RsbbmtM7Qk

— TizzyEnt (@TizzyEnt) March 18, 2025

SF 2589, which Eichorn cosponsored only days before his arrest, proposed defining “Trump derangement syndrome” —which the bill calls”an organic disorder of the brain or a clinically significant disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation, memory, or behavior” — as a mental illness for diagnostic purposes in the state.

A month before his arrest, Eichorn penned an op-ed in Pine and Lakes Echo Journal criticizing Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz’s budget proposal, calling on state legislators instead to “strengthen families, empower parents and crack down on rampant fraud.”  

A bad few years for Minnesota politics

Here is a report of Senator Nicole Mitchell after her arrest for Felony Burglary.

Tim Walz & Senate DFLers said she deserved due process, as they needed to pass their agenda by a one vote margin.

After session ended, they called for her resignation before her case was resolved. pic.twitter.com/MPbaEsU8FM

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 16, 2024

Eichorn is the second current Minnesota state senator to run afoul of the law. Last year, Democratic Senator Nicole Mitchell was arrested and charged with burglary, accused of breaking into her stepmother’s home.

Mitchell denied the accusations and pleaded not guilty, claiming in a Facebook post that it was a misunderstanding between her and her relative, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, The Times reported that year.

Mitchell resisted calls for resignation, and her trial was expected to begin just months after Eichorn’s arrest. For the most part, Minnesota Democratic party leaders have accepted Mitchell would retain her seat throughout the legal proceedings.

A statement through her attorney said, “Sen. Mitchell has heard from many in her community who support her work and believe in her right to due process under the law. Therefore, until her criminal case is fully and finally adjudicated, Sen. Mitchell will continue to serve her constituents as the duly elected state senator from District 47,” according to MPR News.

As for Eichorn, many Minnesota politicians on both sides of the aisle have been less forgiving and have called for him to step down.

The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus said in a Facebook statement, “We are shocked by these reports and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation. Justin has a difficult road ahead and he needs to focus on his family.”

Minnesota Democrat Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy told Minnesota’s WCCO-TV, “The felony allegation against Senator Eichorn is deeply disturbing, and raises serious questions that will need to be answered by the court, as well as his caucus and constituents.”